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Maxwell: Anything Can Happen

Andrew Maxwell admits he is pleasantly surprised to be handed a starting spot against Toulouse in the Heineken Cup at Murrayfield on Saturday (10 November, kick off 3.30pm) because this time last week he wasn't even named in Edinburgh's match squad.

An infected shin injury to Scotland winger Simon Webster meant that Maxwell was drafted in for the match at Munster at the very last minute " travelling down to Cork from his native Belfast on the day of the game.

But, despite the unorthodox preparations, the Ireland A winger delivered an accomplished performance at Musgrave Park and, as a result, he retains the number 11 shirt for the visit of the French aristocrats, dubbed 'the Real Madrid of rugby".

And the 26-year-old back acknowledges that his recent experience shows that anything can happen in rugby and that a player has to be prepared for every eventuality.

Speaking to www.edinburghrugby.org, Maxwell said: "It probably wasn't ideal preparation for a game because I had gone home for the weekend thinking I wouldn't play.

"But I got the call, got down there, got through the game and in the end we were unfortunate to lose.

"I tried to sleep on the journey down in order to get as much rest as I could and I got to Cork at about four o"clock. But you have to be adaptable " it is part of the job."

While some seasoned observers highlight Toulouse's aura of invincibility and the constellation of stars the French side field on a regular basis, Maxwell believes Saturday's opponents are beatable " because he did it with Ulster last season.

He said: 'toulouse have a lot of big names, but it is all about how you perform on the day. I played against Toulouse for Ulster last year and we beat them 33-0 at Ravenhill with all the big names in their team.

"If they turn up then they can be the best club side in the world, but if we can make them play the game the way we want then I think it will be an interesting contest."

A high-profile game in front of the Sky Sports cameras can kick-start a player's international career, but Maxwell is adamant his only goal this season is to enjoy his rugby in the black and red of Edinburgh._He said: "I"m not thinking about that at the minute. I"m only focused on playing well for Edinburgh and showing them what I can do. Then if anything comes from that it will be a bonus.

"I came to Edinburgh to purely get back to enjoying my rugby, which I am doing, then if anything comes from that then it will be a bonus."